See No Evil, Speak No Evil
by shayrulz
Summary: What we see is not always what we know. What we say is not always the truth. For some, seeing is believing but for the most part, you have to believe first before you can see. Throughout our lives there will be things that we may witness that we will want to erase from our minds and words that we will wish would've been left unsaid.
1. Is that?

**See No Evil, Speak No Evil**

**Hello Fanfiction readers! This is my first ghost hunt story so I really hope you all like it. The idea's been floating around my head for a while now but I finally got the inspiration to actually write it ( Woo Hoo!) It might be a little slow at first but not to worry! (if people like it) the story will start to pick up in the next chapter I promise ;P**

**For any of you reading my other story, no I'm not abandoning it...just revising a good portion.**

**I'm only going to be putting the disclaimer in the first chapter cuz I don't feel like copying and pasting it every chapter...**

**Disclaimer: No I (unfortunately) do not own Ghost Hunt or the lyrics for Phoenix by Fall Out Boy T.T only my original characters and ideas.**

"this" =speaking

_'this'_ = thoughts

Chapter 1: Is that...?

* * *

_ To the regular night owls or late night workers the sound of sirens bouncing and echoing off the walls of the concrete city held no special meaning or interest. It was a regular occurrence for the heavily populated area of Tokyo so the wails and flashing lights of the Tokyo Police became something that blended into the background of the large city's night life._

_"This is dispatch calling all available squad cars within Sector 3. We have a report of a possible homicide down off of Yuri Street at the old Atsuko Factory. The ones that found the body are currently onsite and have been instructed to wait in the parking lot until an officer arrives. Detective Noboru will meet responders at the scene." _

_If one were to really pay attention they may have noticed the sudden increase in law enforcement activity at that given moment but, for most, the sound just faded into the ever noisy and bustling streets at that so many called home._

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, warming the earth with its life-giving rays. Shining through the glass window of a local high school these rays of heat fell upon a group of four girls seated at their desks, though they really couldn't be considered girls any longer due to the fact that all were seniors that year and well on their way to adulthood. The golden streaks illuminated the faces of the four young women as they laughed and gossiped just like any normal high-schooler would.

Well, not entirely normal.

Two members of the group could even be considered largely abnormal to the rest of society. One of the girls had the traditional black hair of the Japanese that reached to about the middle of her back. It was tied off into two braids that hung behind her and she also sported a pair of square, brown rimmed glasses that covered narrow black eyes.

During her freshman year she had discovered that she had latent psychic abilities that were frequently affected by her moods. Over the years she had learned to control her emotions so that, even though she couldn't use them at will, her powers wouldn't go haywire and start poltergeisting all over the place like it did two years ago. The tension that used to surround her was gone as well and left in its wake was a shy but friendly female. Most of her improvement was in part due to the other young woman who shared a secret much like hers.

Instead of the normal dark browns or black of most Japanese this young woman's hair was a much lighter shade of brown that, when hit just right by the sun, also had a red tint to it. Over the years she had let it grow out and currently it reached just past her shoulders. Instead of narrow ones like her friend, the girl had doe like eyes that were the color of caramel and held a warmth in them that made it very easy for others to get along with her.

It was also during her freshman year when her abilities began to surface. At first it was slow but as time crawled on her latent sensitivity just kept getting stronger. While their friendship was still only in its infancy at the time, the other young woman was the only one that she could talk to because she could understand what she was going through.

Both girls acted as support for the other and together they formed a strong bond and friendship.

"Hey Mai, Kuroda! Michiru and I were wondering if after school you guys wanted to go this new cake shop that just opened up in Shibuya this week? It's supposed to be really yumm~y!"

Mai smiled as she watched Keiko practically jump out of her seat in excitement. Her friend had one heck of a sweet tooth that never seemed to be satisfied so she was always on the lookout for new bakeries and cake shops to try out.

"Sure I don't see why not. What about you Kuroda?" Mai responded.

"It sounds like a lot of fun." Kuroda replied with a small smile gracing her lips.

Keiko whooped as she threw her fist into the air while her friends just laughed at the excited female sitting with them.

Awhile back Mai took it upon herself to become friends with Kuroda and help break her out of her shell by inviting her to places with Keiko and Michiru. While it's true the other two weren't as enthusiastic at first, they eventually came around and began to genuinely like the girl, inviting her to places on their own accord.

The group had been inseparable ever since.

Minutes and hours ticked away until finally the bell rang signaling their release from the learning institution. All four quickly gathered their belongings and briskly exited the classroom, heading towards the lockers at the entrance, switching out their shoes, and leaving the building while laughing and joking the whole way.

"Come on guys it's this way!" Keiko eagerly shouted at the girls behind her.

The three followed their excited friend but the closer they got to their destination the more Mai began to recognize the route that they were taking.

_'Well, it's certainly been a while.'_

Arriving at the bakery the group sat at a table next to the front window of the store. Looking out across the congested street of Dogenzaka, Mai was able to see the building that once housed SPR as well as some of her fondest memories. Since the company's dissolution, Mai had come down to this area less and less. The first couple of weeks were full of extra long walks home, hoping to catch a glimpse of that oh so familiar black van sitting out front or the window illuminated. As the days grew longer though the less frequently she made her detours to the familiar street till one day she stopped coming all together.

In the beginning she had stayed in touch with all the SPR regulars but, without her regular paycheck and having not found an employer that paid nearly as well as Naru had, Mai was forced to change quite a few things in her life. She had downsized to a smaller apartment in a less...savory part of the city but the rent was affordable and the land lady was nice enough -even if some of her neighbors were a bit questionable. For a certain amount of time she had to get rid of her phone as well, not having the money to pay for it, and between both the move and the loss of her way of contacting her friends she had completely lost touch with all the former members.

_'That was about a year and a half ago I think.'_

Noticing their friend was distracted the three girls all shared a look before all shrugging their shoulders. Only Kuroda had an idea as to what was going through the petite brunette's head but wouldn't think of saying it out loud. SPR was a bit of a sore topic for Mai and the only reason she even knew about this was because of the breakdown that Mai had about a year ago.

That was a very hard year.

Deciding to bring her friend back to the world of the living Kuroda reached over and gently nudged the girl electing a quick, "Huh?", from her.

Michiru and Keiko just laughed at the lost look splayed across Mai's face. "Welcome back Ms. Space Cadet did you enjoy your journey through the universe?", joked Michiru.

Blushing from the embarrassment of being caught while her mind was off in lala land Mai quickly grabbed one of the menu's and flipped it in front of her face to hide the heat she could feel burning her cheeks but, in doing so, also wound up slapping herself in the face with her temporary shield causing a grunt of pain to slip between her lips.

"Pffftt!"

Looking up Mai could see Keiko holding both hands over her mouth attempting to hold in a laugh that was threatening to escape.

It didn't work.

Soon the whole table was loudly giggling at the scene that their friend had just presented to them making Mai's already red face glow an even deeper shade.

"And the ever graceful Mai strikes again!", laughed a highly amused Michiru.

"Shut up!", growled the embarrassed brunette.

Kuroda just laughed at the girl's misfortune, "Come on Mai you know you've done worse, like that one time in the park-"

"Kuroda!"

"Or when she was walking into the classroom-", commented Keiko.

"And that time when you bumped into that gangster-", cut in Michiru.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up! Gah! My friends are turning against me!" wailed Mai as she crossed her arms on the table and quickly hid her face in them.

They just laughed.

By the time their waitress came to take their orders the girls were all laughed out and Mai was thoroughly embarrassed. After that their conversation turned towards more school related things such as the new teacher that they had just got, the latest rumors, and relationships going on at the time.

"So Akira and I were walking through the park and-"

_Hey young blood  
Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?  
I'm gonna change you like a remix  
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix_

" Ah sorry about that Michiru! I need to answer this but I'll be right back.", Mai apologized as her gloved hand reached for the ringing electronic while making her way out of the store's front door.

"Moshi moshi? Taniyama speaking."

_**"Mai it's me."**_

"Oh Kenshin! Hey how are you?", she asked with a smile upon her face.

A small deep laugh could be heard through the phone _**"I'm doing just fine Mai thank you for asking, but I'm afraid that checking up on you isn't what I'm calling for today."**_

Mai emitted a small sigh, "I should've known...you never call me up just to say hey -which would be nice every once in a while ya know", a childish pout forming on her lips.

_**" *chuckle* I'll make sure to remember that. Anyways are you free at the moment?"**_

Leaning against the wall of the bakery Mai replied, "Depends on how important whatever you need is."

_**"At the moment you're the only one that could really give us a hand."**_

Another, more exaggerated, sigh left her mouth this time, "Fine...I'm free. You going to come pick me up?"

_**"I'm leaving right now just tell me where you're at."**_

Mai then proceeded to give Kenshin the address of the bakery.

_**"Alright I should be there within 5 minutes or so."**_

"Cool I'll see you then. Oh and Kenshin?"

_**"Hmm?"**_

"You owe me a slice of strawberry cake."

_**"Hai hai."**_and then he proceeded to end the call.

Pushing herself off the wall, Mai strolled back into the shop and made her way back towards the table that she was sitting at earlier. "Hey guys something just came up so I'm going to have to bail out a little early today, sorry!" Mai sheepishly explained while scratching the back of her head.

"What again? This is like the fifth time this month that it's happened.", Michiru pouted.

"Hey I'll bet it's that secret boyfriend of hers that she keeps refusing to tell us about." Keiko not-so-quietly whispered to Kuroda.

Mai quickly stuck her hands on her hips out of irritation, "How many times do I have to tell you guys, there is no secret boyfriend! Me and Kenshin are just friends."

"Aha!", stated Keiko pointing a finger at her friend, "So it really _is_ a guy that you keep sneaking off to see!"

Noticing that she was only adding fuel to the fire Mai gave up on trying to explain her relationship with Kenshin. Seeing the sleek black Nissan pull up to the front of the bakery Mai knew that it was time for her to go.

At this point the three girls had already huddle together and begun formulating their own ideas as to why she was keeping her "relationship" with this Kenshin a secret.

"Maybe he's some gangster and being seen with him could put her in danger with a rival gang!" Keiko hypothesized.

"What if he's some rich young master that doesn't want to hang around us common folks?", added Michiru.

"Hey you don't think that he's married and they're having some sort of affair...do you?" asked Kuroda.

.

.

.

**"That's it!" **all three agreed at once.

"Hey guys my ride's here so I'll catch you later at school ok? Bye!", waved Mai as she walked towards the exit.

"Mai we don't care if he's married or not just remember to use protection!", Keiko shouted over the voices inside the tiny shop.

...

Silence

...

Her friends had no shame.

It was the fastest exit that Mai had ever made in her life.

Rushing up to the vehicle Mai promptly swung the door open, closed it, clicked her seatbelt in place, then shouted at Kenshin to drive. Shocked and confused by the extremely flustered young woman next to him he just did what she said.

"Um, is everything alright Mai?" he asked, sounding as though he were speaking to a rabid animal.

Looking over at the man next to her she silently took in his appearance. Jet black hair about three inches long that parted on the left side of his head, a tall lean body with just enough muscle, slightly tanned skin from being out in the sun, and a pair of piercing gray eyes with a hint of blue in them.

Then she remembered what Keiko said.

Cue blush.

"It's n-nothing! Nothing at all! Ha! ha! ha..." Mai replied nervously.

"Ok...", he gave her a strange look, "anyways, there's a homicide victim that was found recently that we'd like you to look at." Kenshin stated, breaking the awkward silence.

Coming back to her senses Mai cleared her head of...unwanted...thoughts and relaxed back into her seat, "I'm guessing it's old since you guys are calling me in."

"Sure is. It's pretty nasty looking too." He stated with a straight face.

"Well, guess I'll be the judge of that", she replied, resting her elbow on the window and placing her chin atop a leather gloved hand.

* * *

"We have already been stuck in this room for half a day. If I have to listen to one more of the monk's ridiculous jokes I am going to strangle him!"

"Now just calm down Ayako. I'm sure that as soon as Kazuya/ Naru and Lin come back we'll be able to get out of here." the blonde priest reasoned.

"Hey Yasu listen to this one! Ok, so what do redheads look forward to in life? Grey hair! Get it?" the monk laughed.

With the light glinting off his glasses and a smile upon his face, Yasu pointed to something behind the monk, "Uh Takigawa...you might want to start running now."

"Huh?" asked the confused monk before he heard an ominous voice coming from behind him.

"Monk...did you just call me _OLD?!_" shrieked the redheaded priestess.

THUMP!

"Ow woman! What do you keep in that purse bricks?!"

"Well maybe if I _hit_ you enough times it'll knock some manners into that wrinkled, old thing you call a brain!"

"Hey I'm not the one that has to hide all their wrinkles under pounds of makeup!"

_"WHAT?!"_

"There's no purpose in fighting guys, why don't we all just relax?" John attempted at reasoning with the arguing duo.

No such luck.

"Masako any help here?", John asked turning towards the seated medium who was near the back corner of the deteriorated cement room. All he got in response was a flicker of her grey eyes in his direction before they repositioned themselves towards the area that they were facing earlier. Ignoring the chaos unfolding around her.

Seeing that John was going to worry himself to death, Yasu decided to go up to the young Australian and help ease his worries. Placing his right hand on the blonds' shoulder, "Come now my friend it's not _that _bad, they haven't even broken anything. I'm pretty sure it won't get much worse than-"

_CRASH!_

"Did you just throw a _vase_ at me woman?!" cried Takigawa from his position on the floor against the wall as he stared wide eyed at the redhead in front of him who had just attempted to smash his head with a heavy piece of porcelain.

Tightening his grip on John's shoulder after seeing the priest go a little pale Yasu turned John so that he was facing him, not the violent pair, and gave the best advice that he could think of at the moment. With a smile that would make a con artist proud he only told John one word, "Pray."

No sooner did those words leave his mouth when the prison cell doors -the nickname that the Monk had _affectionately _given their room's wooden double doors- opened wide and in walked the two missing men from the rowdy group of investigators. Unfortunately, their timing was not the best and right as they walked through the threshold an old screwdriver came flying towards their young boss's face.

Fortunately, it missed by a few inches.

Unfortunately...

He was mad.

The room grew deathly quiet.

"Are you all so simple minded that you can't even handle the task of sitting still? Children." scoffed the annoyed young man.

Everyone present swore that the temperature dropped a few degrees in that moment.

Masako decided to ignore the growing tension within the confined space. "Oh Naru thank _goodness _you're back. I tried to stop them but they just wouldn't listen.", spoke the medium as she bat her eyes at him and pretended to be as innocent as she sounded while walking up to the newly arrived duo.

_**'Liar.'**_,was the collective thought shared throughout the room.

"Ms. Matsuzaki, Monk." stated the ever stoic Naru.

"H-hai?"

"Ya?"

"Any damage done to the premises is coming out of your paychecks."

**"What?!" **they both exclaimed.

"This place is abandoned! No one even cares about the things lying around in here!" Takigawa vehemently protested while rising to his feet.

"For once I agree with the monk." Ayako stated as she too rose from the ground, having dodged the screwdriver that had been flung at her.

"Well then, we're just going to have to find something else for you to do." Naru replied, glaring at them with a small smirk gracing his near perfect features

Both adults swallowed loudly at the idea of Naru coming up with a punishment for them. Ever since returning from his stay in England their boss hadn't really changed much personality wise. Recently though, they'd been privy to the slightly more...sadistic side that the young business owner had. If they didn't think he was the devil incarnate before they sure did now.

Ignoring the complaining adults -if they could really be called that- in front of him, Naru addressed the rest of the room's occupants, "The police are done with looking through our tapes so we can return to base now."

That got everyone's attention and made them much happier at the prospect of getting back to work. Late last night they had discovered the remains on the premises and, while they would have notified the police after their investigation was over, their client had made a surprise visit that evening and immediately called the cops after seeing the body. Once Tokyo PD arrived they had been confined to one of the warehouse's many rooms as the cops went through all the footage that they had gathered so far and swept the building for any evidence they could find.

Them being the ones in charge, Naru and Lin were called out periodically to help operate the equipment and explain some of the things that were picked up on their video and audio. Seeing that he now had everyone's undivided attention, Naru turned and made his way through the open doors, a signal for the rest of the group to follow, before speaking once more. "The lead investigator is going to ask each of us a few questions once we arrive. Do not mention the fact that we were going to wait to report the body understood?" the black clad man ordered.

Hearing the collective "Hai" from behind him, Naru continued to make his way down the dimly lit grey hallway back to where all his equipment was being kept.

Behind him another conversation had already started up. Walking with his hands in his pockets, Takigawa decided to voice something that had been bothering him all day. "Anyone else notice how quiet everything has been since the cops showed up?" the monk asked with a pensive look upon his face.

"Now that you mention it," began John, "the ghost has been unusually dormant. It was pretty active when we first got here."

Folding her arms across her chest Ayako continued following the group to the base. "That's true. I haven't even sensed anything for a while now."

"That is because it has been getting prepared for its next attack." Naru blandly stated. All eyes turned to him.

"What do you mean Naru?" a curious Yasu asked, looking at his boss with puzzled eyes.

"For the last couple hours the police's equipment has been failing, having their batteries drained. You all didn't honestly think that it normally took half a day for them to interrogate witnesses did you?" answered the teen while walking further ahead of everyone, somehow making his monotone voice condescending.

Slowly raising a fist in to the air, Ayako managed a quick utter of "Little brat" before she was physically restrained from behind by Takigawa with John and Yasu in front attempting to cool the priestess's ire.

Naru, Lin, and Masako just continued walking.

5 minutes -and one piercing glare at the back of Naru's head- later, the team of investigators arrived at the hallway containing their base.

Along their way down the dreary hall the group passed by the room containing the remains as well as a few cops that were hustling about inside the old room, all hard at work on their assigned tasks.

After reaching the base doors they all filed in one at a time. Yasu was the last to reach the entrance but right when he was about to enter a voice that sounded vaguely familiar caught his attention.

"Geez Kenshin, I swear every time you bring me somewhere it just gets more and more run down. Can't you find a body at, oh I don't know, a fancy mansion or something for once?" he heard a suspiciously familiar voice complain.

A man's chuckle came after the female was done speaking. "Sure, sure, next time I'll try to remember to tell the killer to make sure he does his crime at some rich person's house just for you." said the man with sarcasm heavily lacing his deep voice.

"Jerk."

Hearing the insult along with the voice caused Yasu to quickly flick his head back down the hall in the direction that they had come from, hoping to catch a glimpse of the one that the voice belonged to. By the time he turned though, all he could see was a rather tall, dark haired man walking next to a young woman and only the back of her body since she was turned to face her companion, standing before the room that the police were currently busy investigating. As the sight of the woman's light brown and red tinted hair met his eyes he could only recal one person that he'd ever known to have that particular shade of brunette. What really cemented his suspicions though was when she turned around to face the entrance of the room.

_'Is that...Mai?'_

* * *

**DONE!**

**Soooo...what do ya think? Like? Don't like? Suggestions? Let me know!**

**I'm only going to continue it if people actually want to read it so you know what that means, REVIEWS! I live off of them so let me know if you want the next chapter :)**

**Adios for now!**

** -shayrulz**


	2. The reunion

**To everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited my story THANK YOU! It made me**_** sooo**_** happy that you all think my story's interesting! *blushes***

**Here's my response to the comments:**

**animedude16:**** I'm glad you liked that scene it took me**_** forever**_** to get it just right! Besides, who doesn't love a good argument with random objects flying at people's heads?**

**guest2:**** Yes shocking Naru is one of the joys us writers are privileged with. Lord knows how difficult it is to get some type of emotion other than smug out of him...**

**MONZ15: ****I'm happy you think so it's very flattering :)**

**AssailantAngel: ****thank you very much!**

**Artemis's best Huntress: ****It's great to know that they all seem in character. With people like Naru it's difficult getting that perfect blend of genius and jerk :P**

**guest1:**** thank you!**

**younggem:**** thank you!**

**As I promised here is the next chapter so enjoy! **

"this" **= talking**

_'this'_ **= thoughts**

**Chapter 2: The reunion**

* * *

Pulling up to their destination Mai finally got her first look at where she would, more than likely, be spending the next couple days of her life. _'Look on the bright side, no more classes for at least two days!'_ she thought to herself.

Setting her eyes on the building in front of her, Mai had to wonder if it was even safe for them to be going into the rundown structure. It wasn't a very large factory when compared to some that existed but was still pretty big. It was three stories of brick and cement shaped like one giant rectangle. The places where windows had been broken and walls had crumbled away gave onlookers a glimpse into the inky depths of the deserted building. What may have once been vibrant red, green, and blue paint was now faded to dull, lifeless colors that just added to the eerie vibe that the old structure gave off, even during the day time.

Passing through the metal gate of the fence that surrounded the property, Mai could see a large number of signs warning trespassers to stay off the premises. Many had some type of graffiti sprayed all over them but the sheer number of signs is what really caught Mai's attention. "Someone really wants to keep people out of here huh?" she commented as they drove closer to the factory entrance.

Kenshin nodded his head at the statement. "It's a popular place for kids that want to do courage tests and the amateur ghost hunter every now and then. We get calls all the time to come here because of disturbances."

"Ah the glorious life of a detective." Mai teased the man next to her.

Laughing inwardly, Kenshin played along with her joke. "Yes, babysitting snot nosed brats is the _entire _reason for my joining the force." he finished with a fake proud look upon his face.

Bringing the car to a stop its two occupants took a few seconds to look each other in the face before both started laughing. Walking up to the building the duo were soon spotted by one of the uniforms standing outside.

"Detective Noboru!"

Turning to greet the man, Kenshin quickly got updated on any progress and complications that had happened in his absence before motioning Mai to follow him into the deserted factory. As they passed by both large and small rooms Mai noticed that there were strange dark marks covering almost every surface.

_'Almost as if they were scars.'_

Old deteriorated equipment, chairs, and desks were scattered throughout the structure, flipped on their sides and falling apart. Most of the walls were tagged in graffiti or vandalized in some other way. It would take the two of them about five minutes before they reached the hallway that contained the room with the body. To pass the time, they made small talk as they walked towards their destination and as both of them got closer, Mai could hear quite a few voices coming from the end of the hallway and noticed a few people walking into one of the rooms. Shrugging it off as just another group of officers or detectives she directed her attention back to her companion.

"Geez Kenshin, I swear, every time you bring me somewhere it just gets more and more run down. Can't you find a body at, oh I don't know, a fancy mansion or something for once?" she asked in an exasperated voice.

Kenshin just shook his head and chuckled at the female next to him as he listened to her complain. "Sure, sure, next time I'll try to remember to tell the killer to commit his crime at some multi-million dollar house _just_ for you." he looked at her, sarcasm heavily lacing his deep voice.

Mai just glared half heartedly, "Jerk.", and said nothing more seeing that they had finally reached their destination.

Entering the room without any hesitation in her steps, Mai quickly located the corpse surrounded by forensic personnel and slowly walked over to them with Kenshin trailing behind.

"Ah miss? I'm sorry but you can't be here this is a crime scene so we're going to need you to go back to the room where the rest of your group is being held." a young looking forensic assistant that she didn't recognize told her.

_'Group? What group?'_ Mai thought, puzzled.

Before she could voice her question, and tell the newbie who she was, Kenshin decided to intervene. "It's fine Katsu, she's with me."

The young man straightened up immediately. "Ah! D-detective Noboru S-sir! My apologizes I didn't know she was with you." nervousness was practically dripping from the young man as he bowed deeply to his superior. Kenshin just waved off his concern before they continued on their way to the leader of the forensic team.

Picking out a face that Mai had come to know very well over the last year or so a large grin spread across her features as she ran up to him. "Dr. Nowaki!" she shouted while waving enthusiastically at the figure that turned at the sound of his name.

The man looked to be in his mid to late fifties with white speckled throughout his short, black, buzz cut hair. He stood to about 5'9" with a husky looking body wearing the standard white plastic suit that was required in order to not contaminate the evidence at the site. His face had sharp, angular features that had softened as he got older and small wrinkles around his eyes and mouth indicating that he was a rather cheerful person. Despite his eyes being a deep, almost black color, there was something inviting within them that made a person feel welcomed and safe.

Spreading his arms out in invitation, Mai jumped into his arms and they shared a friendly hug, both smiling the whole time. The rest of the team stopped what they were doing and looked at the scene that their boss was creating with the much smaller female before shaking their heads at the familiar sight.

"Geez, you'd think they hadn't seen each other in months instead of a week or so with the way they act." Kenshin offhandedly muttered with an amused expression.

Finally pulling away from the much older man, Mai decided that it was time she got to work. "So what am I going to be looking at today Doc?"

Letting the young woman go Nowaki motioned Mai over to where the body lied. From what Mai could see of the crime scene it looked as though the body was hidden within the ceiling and came crashing down when the roof could no longer support the weight. A metal rod, much like those used during construction, was protruding from the corpse -if you could even call it that. Over the past year and a half Mai had seen her fair share of strange crime scenes but this one definitely topped her list. The body was a disturbing mix of skin and bone. It was shriveled up like a grape that had been left in the sun for too long and some places were bare of anything allowing the white of the bones to peek out. The worst part of it though was the expression that was frozen onto the victim's face.

Terror.

"The victim's male, roughly between sixteen and twenty I'd say." came the gravely tones of Nowaki's voice. "Cause of death looks to be from the metal pole sticking out of him. It's rather decomposed and seems to have been in the building for quite some time, although..."

"Although...?" Mai questioned after hearing the head medical examiner hesitate.

"Well," Nowaki began, "it seems that at some point the lad had his knee replaced and we were able to get a serial number off of the implant."

"But?" asked Mai.

"But, when we checked to see who the implant belonged too it came up for one Tachibana Shinrei. The surgery was performed one month ago." The forensic specialist stated with slight confusion lacing his words.

Surprised, Mai shot Kenshin a quick glance. "That doesn't make any sense," she spoke before turning back to the doctor, "you said that the body seemed to have been here for quite some time."

He nodded his head. "At least a couple years for the deterioration that has occurred."

Kenshin could clearly see the confusion etching itself onto Mai's face. "This is why we called you in. After all, you do specialize in the strange and confusing."

Not giving a verbal response Mai just nodded her head and made her way up to the decomposed body and knelt down next to it. Reaching for a leather covered hand, Mai pulled off the sturdy glove revealing smooth pale skin that hadn't seen the sun for quite some time before hovering that hand over the head of the corpse. "If I faint you had better catch me Kenshin." and then she lowered her hand.

* * *

The group of paranormal investigators sat around their base, all -for the most part- bored out of their minds.

Breaking the silence that had fallen upon them -much to Naru and Lin's annoyance-, Monk suddenly shot back in his seat and grabbed his head in frustration. "I can't stand all this sitting around anymore! They even unplugged the camera and microphone that we placed in the room so now we have no idea what's even going on..." he finished sounding as drained as most of the group felt.

"Ma~ybe they're part of some cult that wants to use the remains to summon their master. From. _Hell_." Yasu stated from behind Takigawa's head in a creepy voice, shining a flashlight that he found under his face.

"Gah!" the monk then proceeded to flail about and fall off the couch in an attempt to get away from the creepy boy. "Shounen! Don't do that to an old man's heart!" he pleaded from his position on the floor.

A little ways away Ayako mumbled under her breath "So he finally admits his age huh?"

Turning his head in her direction the monk shot her a withering glare. "What was that?"

Unfortunately during this distraction he didn't notice Yasu coming up around the couch till he was kneeling right next to him and grabbing both of his hands in his own. "You know I could never hurt you Monk, my love for you would never let me." fake tears were shining behind his rimmed glasses.

Takigawa froze in his spot and paled to an unhealthy shade of white as he tried to retract his hands from the manipulative boy. Ayako laughed at the man's discomfort, John ran over to pry the now smiling Yasu away from Monk, Masako looked upon the scene with her sleeve covering her mouth and her eyes shining with amusement, and Lin and Naru ignored the happenings behind them for watching the monitors.

A creak from the door drew all their attentions.

One of the officers that they had met earlier that day stuck his head into the room, informing them about the detective's arrival, and motioning them to follow him. Rising from their various seats the group left the base and followed the young officer back towards the room containing the corpse. Many of the members thought it odd that the cop in charge wanted to question them in the same area as the body but let it slide, thinking it some interrogation technique, and followed their escort into the room. Right as they entered all their eyes zeroed in on the small crowd gathered around the remains. Their guide called out to one of the men and as said man turned and began coming over towards them, speaking to a much older gentleman first, they all caught a glimpse of a young female -high schooler judging by her uniform- kneeling very still before the remains. Many thoughts as to why the girl was even here ran through the minds of the group of ghost hunters but Yasu instantly recognized her for the girl that was in the hallway.

Reaching the group, Kenshin introduced himself. "Hello I'm Detective Noboru Kenshin, the lead investigator on this case." he said with a small bow of his head.

Stepping forward Naru introduced himself as well "Shibuya Kazuya, I'm the owner of Shibuya Psychic Research." a small nod was given in greeting, "I heard you have a few questions for my associates and me?" he asked in a bland voice once he saw that the detective had stiffened up slightly after his introduction. He just wrote it off as a reaction to someone his age running a company. A reaction he had become all too familiar with over the years.

Kenshin promptly eased the stiffness in his limbs from hearing the familiar name and directed the small group of investigators off into a far corner of the medium sized room. _'Mai is __**not**__ going to be happy when she finds out.'_

Gesturing them to sit in the available chairs the seven of them sat in a semicircle with Kenshin's seat in front of them. "For starters why don't you all tell me why you're here."

The SPR regulars could practically feel the irritation at what Naru would consider an "insignificant inquiry".

Showing no outer emotion, their stoic boss began answering the routine questions. "My company was requested by the property owner to come investigate the factory due to claims of it being haunted."

"And what exactly is it that you all do?"

"We hunt ghosts and exorcise spirits found at the locations we investigate."

"How was it that you came across the body?"

"One of my employee's was doing a walkthrough in the room when part of the roof suddenly collapsed, the remains coming down with it."

"Did you see any suspicious people entering or leaving the premises during the time you've been here?"

"No. Only my associates, myself, and the land owner have been here."

"And how long exactly have you been here?"

"Three days. We arrived Sunday morning."

Pausing his questions, Kenshin's eyes roamed the group before him, looking for any signs that their boss was lying. The oldest looking of the group seemed to be just as pokerfaced as his employer, and the kimono wearing girl had half her face hidden behind her sleeve making it hard to read her expressions. The next two, a red headed woman and a man with light brown hair, didn't even seem to be paying attention at all due to the fact that they were glaring rather heatedly at each other. Next was a blonde foreigner that seemed to be the personification of nervousness. His blue eyes kept warily glancing between the staring duo as if they would pounce at any second. It was the last one though that caught his attention. Kenshin could see that even though he had a calm smile adorning his lips, the young man kept stealing glances at the area where Mai and the forensic team were located when he thought that he wasn't looking.

Getting ready to voice his suspicions, a shout from across the room drew his attention. "Kenshin!"

Whipping his head in the direction it came from, his eyes fell upon the twitching form of Mai being supported in Nowaki's arms.

_"Mai!"_

Hearing the familiar name leaving the detective's lips all the SPR employees snapped their heads towards the man that shouted the name of the sunny girl they used to know and watched as he ran to where the girl that was kneeling over the body earlier was now being cradled by the older man that Kenshin had briefly spoke to before greeting them. What surprised even Naru was that Yasu was hot on the detective's heels. Deciding to see what was happening, Naru rose from his seat and made his way over to the gathering crowd of police officers, the rest of the regulars right behind him. The sight that met him was not one that he was expecting and, unconsciously, made his deep blue eyes widen marginally in a lapse of his iron composure.

_'...Mai?'_

The features were nearly identical to that of the girl that had worked for him two years ago before he closed shop and left to bury his brother's body. Worry instantly worked its way into his mind when he saw that she was no longer just twitching but now having a fit, her eyes open but unseeing. The others also got over their shock of seeing their long lost friend when her actions became more violent. Ayako was the first to move towards the young woman, helping Nowaki to restrain her so she couldn't harm herself.

"What _happened?"_ a panicked Kenshin demanded.

Nokawki just shook his head and continued to hold the young woman down. "I don't know! Everything was fine then, for no apparent reason, she started twitching uncontrollably and wouldn't respond to _anything_ I did!" The worry in the doctor's voice was easily heard by all gathered.

The events that came next happened without warning. All at once, the room's windows suddenly burst inward, showering the people inside with the sharp fragments, causing many to scream. Then, knocking noises as well as the room shaking as though it were experiencing a minor earthquake further disoriented those within the confined space. During this time Mai began screaming and her struggles became even more frantic forcing Naru, Takigawa, and Kenshin to help hold her down.

"It's the ghost its right above her!" Masako shouted over the chaos surrounding them while staring wide-eyed at the space above Mai's writhing form.

Naru shot Lin a stern glance and, catching the hint, Lin whistled for his shiki which then materialized and attacked the entity causing the mayhem within the room. A disembodied scream was heard by all occupants as the shiki continued assailing the ghost until the shaking and knocking noises finally ceased along with the struggles and screams of the female being restrained on the ground. A calm silence fell over the room's inhabitants.

"Mai..Mai, _Mai!_ Hey snap out of it!" Kenshin was shaking the high schooler's shoulders in an attempt to break her out of whatever kind of daze she had been put in.

* * *

The horrible incidents that Mai had just been reenacting began to fade and a familiar black space soon met her panic stricken caramel colored eyes. Watching the spirits lazily floating around the astral plane helped to somewhat calm her fried nerves and gain control of her jumbled thoughts and senses. Gene had long since left her psychic visions, having said his farewells to her the night Naru departed for England, so Mai was forced to learn to navigate the endless space and her dreams all on her own. It was during times like this though that she truly missed having his comforting presence around after reliving the past of a location and its inhabitants.

"...ai...Mai...snap...of it!"

The tranquil silence was then interrupted by the sound of a familiar, but muffled, voice calling out to her. The black of the astral plane disappeared and Mai could once again feel herself connected to her physical body. Exhaustion came over her like a tidal wave and through unfocused eyes she saw the fuzzy outline of Kenshin and Nowaki's worried faces hovering over her. At the corners of her blurry vision she also noticed another group of people huddled around her. Lethargically, she slid her gaze to meet that of the nearest person of this second group and, though it may not have shown on her face, a spark of recognition went through her brain as a deep, ocean colored gaze met her own light brown one.

_'Naru?'_

Then her world went dark.

* * *

Once Mai had fallen into unconsciousness it was decided that they would bring her to the base room to rest, much like the group of ghost hunters had done in the past. As a force of habit, Naru began to kneel down to reach for the young woman so he could bring her to the room but Kenshin beat him to the punch. Luckily -in his opinion anyway- he hadn't bent down enough yet for it to be noticeable so he was able to fix his posture without anyone the wiser, mentally berating himself.

Setting Mai upon the couch, Kenshin would spend an hour inside the tense base with the rest of SPR before the girl would finally begin to stir. Hearing a groan coming from the vicinity of the sofa, Kenshin swiftly made his way to the girls side. Seeing her eyelids begin to flutter with consciousness, a sigh of relief left the detective's lungs.

Upon waking, Mai felt as though she were experiencing the world through a filter of water. Nothing was focused and any sounds she heard were muffled. Blinking a few times and focusing on clearing her muddled mind the world once again became clear and, once again, Mai found the face of Kenshin smiling down at her, this time with relief.

Observing that the female next to him was finally tuned into reality, the detective placed a comforting hand over her short brown locks. "Hey how you feeling?"

Struggling at first, Mai answered in a scratchy voice. "Ok as I'll ever be, though I could really use some water right about now."

Handing Mai the glass that was sitting on the table next to them, Kenshin watched as she slowly sat up and gulped down the much needed refreshment. Placing the glass back in its original place Mai was suddenly engulfed by a strong pair of arms.

"I'm glad you're ok Mai." Kenshin mumbled next to her. Her surprise soon morphed into understanding as she reciprocated his actions.

"Are we...interrupting something?"

Having forgotten about the other occupants of the room in favor of tending to the now awake girl, the young detective separated himself and Mai, a light blush of embarrassment staining his cheeks, which gave her a full view of the rest of the room's inhabitants.

"Yasu?"

Seeing the familiar bespectacled boy shocked the young woman to say the least. It had been close to two years since she'd had any contact with her former coworkers and Mai never really thought she'd run into one of them like this.

"Mai/ Jou-chan!"

Seeing the two adults hastily walking over to the young woman seated next to him, Kenshin quickly made himself sparse in order to give the trio some space. Mai then found herself lifted off the sofa and into the crushing arms of a much taller male. "Monk...c-can't...breath!"

A resounding smack echoed off the walls of the cement room as well as a shout of pain before Mai was unceremoniously dropped to the hard ground. "Don't kill her when we just got her back you idiot!" Ayako reprimanded the monk that was now cradling his head.

"Need a hand Mai?" came a gentle voice. Looking up, the familiar visage of the blonde priest met her eyes, holding out a hand to help her up, "John!", and before she knew it she had pulled the Australian into a friendly hug. Releasing the man, she took a few steps back and was met with the sight of the kimono wearing medium staring back at her. "Masako!" A slight nod and a small smile were directed towards her, "It's good to see you again Mai."

Smiling at her long lost friends a thought occurred to Mai _'If everyone else is here then that must mean...'_

Looking around the small space, two black clad outlines drew her attention. Mai's eyes first met Lin's and, in a rare show of emotion, a quick upturn of his lips and a small nod of acknowledgement were all she received before his well constructed mask once again covered his features. Finally her gaze locked with the last of the group. Mai had long since stopped crying over Naru's rejection. Instead of sadness, the memory only brought forth feelings of anger at how he handled the whole situation.

_'Loved his brother my ass. Who is he to decide how I feel huh?'_ Mai could feel the anger starting to take hold of her and immediately shoved the emotion to the back of her mind. No sense in causing a scene. So with every ounce of self control she contained, Mai put on the friendliest smile she could muster and addressed the man before her. "Hey Naru, been awhile huh?"

Said narcissist narrowed his piercing eyes at the phony smile adorning Mai's face. "Good to see you're still getting into trouble as usual Mai."

Twitch. "Yes well at least the people I know now try to help me instead of ignoring everything outside of their personal bubble."

Smug blue eyes met her gaze. "As I recall I was the one always assisting you out of whatever predicament you got yourself into at the time."

An irritated tic began to form in the young woman's hands._ 'Do not punch Naru in the face. **Do not** punch Naru in the face.'_ "Wasn't it also because of you that I got into most of those situations?"

A glare was now being directed at the female before him. "Your running off into dangerous locations by yourself is only a direct product of you not thinking things through."

Mai was now matching his glare. "Well the lies and middle of the night walks to change batteries and get tapes alone say otherwise."

The rest if the room looked upon the scene with apprehension. "Am I missing something?" John whispered to the gathered group of people.

"You're not the only one." Monk answered back just as quietly.

Kenshin just stood off in a corner watching the events unfold before him. He knew that Mai wouldn't be thrilled once she learned that her old employer was here and he approved of her reaction to him. A little over a year ago she told him about her time at SPR and everything that happened from beginning to end. _'For being a supposed genius, the boy sure is dense.'_

Deciding to distract the girl from her rage and break the tension building within the base, Yasu cut into their conversation -if it could even be called that, "So what happened all those years ago Mai? One day we're all eating at a local cafe and the next you just up and vanish."

Noticing that she now had everyone's undivided attention, Mai gave one last glare in her old boss's direction before turning towards the rest of the gang with a genuine smile and answered as best as she could. "Well I had to move to a different apartment complex and it was hard keeping in touch during the move."

Monk had a slightly confused expression adorning his face, "Ya but you still should have been able to call right? Whenever we tried to reach you after that it always said that your number wasn't in service anymore."

Slight panic swept through Mai at where the line of inquiry was headed, replacing the anger that was still flowing through her veins. Her right hand rose up behind her head out of nervous habit as she let the lie slide off her lips like water, "Well you see, during the move I _might _have accidentally packed my phone into a box I sent to a donation center. It had everyone's contact information so there was no real way to reach any of you." she finished in a sheepish tone. While she didn't like lying, Mai didn't want any of the gang finding out about that particular period of her life and they didn't need to know about her money troubles either.

Unlike the rest of the SPR crew, Naru recognized the gesture from when Mai used to try to make up stories for why she was late to work. Seeing that no one else caught on, Naru just filed the information away for him to dwell upon some other time and refocused on the conversation currently taking place.

Once everyone had confiscated her new phone in order to add their numbers Monk decided to ask the young woman something that had been nagging at the back of his mind since he first saw her. "Not that we're not happy to see you again Mai, cause trust me we are...even if _some_ of us won't show it," a pointed look was shot in Naru's direction, "but what exactly are you doing here?" interest was clearly seen upon his face as well as the rest of the SPR regular's.

Mai and Kenshin exchanged glances, which didn't go unnoticed by the room's occupants, before the young woman spoke up. "Well, I'm a consultant."

* * *

**And viola! Chapter 2 is now complete :D**

**I hope I kept everyone in character (Naru was a pain in the butt!) and that all their interactions work together nicely but mostly I just want to know what you all think about the development so far (and how do you all feel Kenshin so far?). Any good?**

**Remember reviews are what keep the chapters coming so don't forget to leave a comment! You can ask me anything you want and I'll answer the best that I can (though I can't tell you all everything, don't wanna spoil the surprises ;P) Constructive criticism is always welcome.**

**Ta-ta for now!**

**-shayrulz**


	3. The Dream

**I'm Back! Took me a little bit but I got it done and just before St. Patrick's Day too (woohoo Irish ppl!) **

**Anyways...loved reading everybody's reviews ( your words of praise make me feel all bubbly inside) and I'm happy to hear that you all are liking Kenshin so far :) He's going to be a major character in this story so I hope everyone can learn to love him! **

**So enough of my rambling now onto the main attraction!**

**See No Evil, Speak No Evil**

**Chapter 3: The Dream**

* * *

"Um, mind repeating that again?"

Mai smiled brightly at her former coworkers, "I'm a consultant with the Tokyo Police Department."

Dumbfounded and surprised looks were what greeted the young psychic.

**"HUUUH?" **

A nervous grin inched its way up Takigawa's face as surprise turned to confusion. "Jou-chan, don't you mean volunteer? Or maybe even helpful citizen?"

Her earlier happiness quickly drained, Mai let out a depressed sigh once she saw almost all of the SPR crew nod at Takigawa's inquiry. "Come on guys do you really think I'm that unreliable that I wouldn't be able to help them?"

"Well, I wouldn't say unreliable..." began the monk as he nervously gazed at the depressed female in front of him.

"More unpredictable really." Ayako finished for him with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I didn't even think that the police considered the opinions of spiritualists here." John added in a confused and nervous voice.

Yasu sneakily popped up in front of the young woman, "It's ok Boss I believe you! And I bet the Big Boss does as well, right?" He stated with a large grin and his eyes gleaming with mischief.

Looking seemingly uninterested in the current line of questioning, Naru lifted his blue gaze from his ever present black binder, "Isn't it obvious?", before returning his attention to the binder's contents.

Seeing that Naru wasn't about to explain his reasoning, and the confused looks from Ayako, Monk, and John, Yasu decided to indulge his three lost coworkers. "Well for one," he began while pointing one finger up into the air as if counting, "if she were incorrect don't you think the nice police detective over there would have corrected her statement already?"

All three jumped in realization as they slowly turned to face Kenshin who had been standing in a corner of the room the whole time. The detective just raised an eyebrow at them as if asking if they had really just forgot that he was in the room. Throughout this, Masako quietly sat in her metal foldout chair and only observed. "Aren't you supposed to be investigators? Not very good if you even forget the people standing within the same room as you." came Kenshin's even and deep tone.

All three slightly flinched at the jab but it was Naru who spoke up first. "While I agree that my employees should be more aware of their surroundings," the trio hung their heads in embarrassment at this and Naru turned in his chair to face Kenshin, "I would appreciate it if you would refrain from chiding them."

Directing his eyes to the young man seated next to the monitors, the detective held his gaze for a couple seconds before giving a small nod of his head in apology. "I overstepped, it won't happen again." Lifting from the gesture, grey met blue once more. They stayed this way for a moment more before Naru was satisfied with whatever he found and nodded back in acceptance before swiveling his chair in the direction of the recently unconscious high schooler.

Snapping his binder shut, Naru easily grabbed the attention of the rest of the room's occupants,_ 'Now then...'_

"Mai what happened in the room next door?" the question sounding more like a demand.

Turning burning eyes onto the man that she had been arguing with not even 5 minutes prior, Mai made to snap at him, "Now you listen here-"

"I'm sorry, but this time it is my turn to ask you to not over step." Kenshin interjected.

Naru minutely narrowed his eyes in Kenshin's direction. "What do you mean Detective?"

Pushing off from the wall that he had been leaning on, Kenshin slowly walked over to where Mai was sitting. "Mai is no longer your employee and is working for the department currently so discussing any ongoing cases and their happenings with unrelated individuals is strictly prohibited." Having reached his destination, Kenshin offered Mai a hand up which she accepted, placing her leather gloved hand -Kenshin had placed the gloves back on while she was still unconscious- in his before being led to the door.

Naru did not appreciate the sudden road block in his investigation but, whether he liked it or not, Mai was no longer obligated to answer him and he was smart enough not to argue with a cop. Also, judging by her reaction to his earlier question, and their argument, he believed that even without the detective's intrusion she wouldn't have willingly answered anyways.

Watching Mai being lead out of the room had a couple of the members of SPR looking as if their parent just confiscated their favorite toy. Takigawa was the first to break the silence. "Detective Noboru, if you're having Mai consult then you already know about the spirits here right?"

Hearing the light brown haired man speak, Kenshin halted his movement towards the door along with Mai. No need to be rude right? "Yes I am aware."

Encouraged by this the monk continued. "Then since we've already been hired to investigate the spirits here in the first place don't you think it would be better to work together? Right Naru?"

The black clad genius wiped all signs of his previous annoyance from his expression before addressing the monk. Closing his eyes he replied in an even tone, "If the police do not wish to share information with us then it is not our place to force them."

Feeling forgotten Mai decided to voice her thoughts on the matter. "Monk does have a point Kenshin." She said while facing her friend.

While Kenshin had always demanded a certain amount of respect for his position he was generally an easy going guy and really not one for formalities. Certain circumstances, however, required him to pull rank even when he didn't want to and lay out rules that would better benefit everyone in the long run. This, unfortunately, was one such time.

"While I do appreciate the offer," his voice came out polite and authoritative, "Mai has consulted on quite a few cases for us and no other assistance was need then so I believe that we have everything covered."

"But-"

"Kenshin-"

"In the future, if your assistance is needed," Kenshin shot Naru a small business-like smile, "we will be certain to fill you in on everything that has happened so far." and just like that he grabbed Mai by the wrist and they were both out of the room.

The click of the door closing echoed throughout the small cement-walled base. Not a second later did the room's occupants detect a dip in the room temperature and an increase in the tension. Everyone knew the cause of the change in atmosphere but no one dared to mention it out loud.

_'Looks like the Big Boss just found himself some competition.'_ Yasu laughed inwardly.

Ayako leaned over to her right in order to whisper to Takigawa. "That detective's pretty impressive to be able to withstand Naru's glares and smile at him while doing it."

The monk raised his right hand up to his mouth to shield his reply from prying eyes. "I know right? Not even a flinch. But the guy just stole Mai from us and after we just got her back!" At the end of his sentence a pout was forming on his features and his voice had risen so it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Don't worry mate I'm sure we'll get another chance to see Mai. It's not like we were kicked out so we'll run into her eventually." John stated, wearing his innocent smile.

With her sleeve covering her mouth Masako chimed into the conversation for the first time. "Knowing Mai, all we have to do is wait for trouble and it'll lead us right to her." the mediums eyes were closed in a smile.

Everyone in the room sighed at this, the silent duo at the monitors doing this mentally. All the SPR members knew perfectly well the penchant for trouble that the young woman had. In the life of Mai Taniyama these facts always held true: If there is trouble to be had, she will be right in the middle of it; If there is no trouble, she will soon be the cause of it.

"We'll definitely see her soon." Stated the monk.

All the investigators mentally agreed.

* * *

After being dragged out of SPR's base, Mai decided it would be better to question Kenshin now in the hallway rather than within a room full of eavesdroppers. She planted her feet, refusing to walk any further, which in turn caused the detective to halt his movements as well since he was still holding onto her wrist. Kenshin then turned to face the high schooler, one black eyebrow raised in confusion.

Gently pulling her arm free, Mai placed both hands on her hips. "They could've helped us you know."

Seeing her serious look, Kenshin turned to fully face her and placed both of his hands in the pockets of his black slacks before leaning against the wall on his left. Returning the serious look that he was being given, Kenshin replied. "I meant everything I said in there. You didn't need help before and there's no reason for them to give us a hand now."

Not liking his answer, the small female hardened her stare just a little. "While I appreciate the faith you have in me, they could make things go a lot quicker."

His stare never faltered. "I know that."

Now Mai was just annoyed. "Then what's the issue?"

Kenshin let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes. "Do you honestly think that working with your old boss is really a good idea Mai?" Opening his eyes back up, the high schooler was met with steely grey piercing into her. "The first time you see each other in two years and not even five minutes later you're already at each other's throats. Plus there are some things that you're not ready to talk about that they will definitely question."

Mai visibly flinched at that and looked down to her now clasped hands.

Witnessing the change in her demeanor, Kenshin's expression softened considerably. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

Peeking up through long brown lashes, Mai gives a small smile. "Thanks."

Lifting himself from his perch against the wall, the young detective leaned over and affectionately patted Mai on the head. "No problem. Now why don't you tell me about you're episode earlier."

Her smile faded at this. "Oh yea..."

_** "Screaming, a blazing heat...pain"**_

"...right." Her eyes dazed in remembrance.

Kenshin's eyebrows furrowed in concern at this. "You need to wait?"

Mai just shook her head. "No, I'll be fine." Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down and began retelling her dream.

* * *

_**  
After touching the remains Mai opened her eyes to see the faces of two teenagers, one male and one female, staring back at her.**_

_**"Guys can we go back now it's creepy in here." the girl said. She had black, pixie cut hair with brown eyes and was wearing a black hoodie and light blue skinny jeans.**_

_**"Aw you scared Yuki?" Teased the other male. His hair was bleached and his black eyes blended into the darkness of the building. He was also wearing a jacket with black jeans.**_

_**Feeling the body she was in move, Mai heard these words leaving her mouth. "She's afraid that the ghost is gunna come and attack her. Legend says that it prefers women." Her deep tone teased the female of the group.**_

_**Yuki's now freaked out expression was met with laughter from both of the guys with her. "Shut up!"**_

_**Clack. Clack. Clack.**_

_**The whole group froze and swung their flashlights in the direction of the noise. "Guys...what was that?" Yuki's voice was shaking as was her hand which caused the glow of her flash light to quiver against the deteriorating cement wall.**_

_**"Relax it was probably a rat. No need to freak out." Mai's body spoke but she could feel that the smile that was once present was now replaced by a cautious expression.**_

**_"Come on, I want to go check out the Fire Room." Spoke the other male before he led the trio through the musty halls. Mai decided that she should probably try and memorize where this Fire Room is located since it'll probably be important later on._**

**_It took the group a good ten minutes before they made it to their destination. Along the way there were quite a few noises that had the girl, Yuki, jumping in her skin and flinching at every creak and tap._**

**_"We're here."_**

**_Checking out the metal door before her, Mai read through all the graffiti plastered along its surface. Keep out. Fire Room. Lost. Help. Death. Some of the words were spray painted, most likely by teenagers, but others looked to have been scratched directly into the surface._**

**_"So who wants to go in first?" Came Mai's now deep voice._**

**_"Since you asked why don't you take the lead Shinrei? You're the one that wanted to come to this rundown factory in the first place." Yuki's tense voice cut through the silence that surrounded the group as they stared at the entrance to the infamous room._**

**_"Ya well as they say, ladies first." Mai's body, now identified as Tachibana Shinrei, pushed Yuki closer towards the graffitied metal. Not without resistance of course._**

_**"No way! Age before beauty!"**_

_**Watching the two argue, the last member of the group spoke up. "Look if it'll shut you both up I'll go in first." Stepping past the duo he placed one hand upon the heavy door, applying little pressure, before it slowly swung open emitting a long creaking sound. Taking the first step in to the pitch black, the boy eased his way into the interior of the room, shining his light on every surface he could find. Following their friend's lead, Shinrei and Yuki also entered.**_

_**'It looks just like the rest of this building. Broken equipment, shattered windows, and those strange black marks covering the walls.' Mai thought as Shinrei's body moved throughout the space.**_

_**She watched as the other teens inspected the room looking for anything out of the ordinary. Mai then listened as words not her own left her mouth. "Kyo, I thought this place was supposed to be covered in blood and messages of the dead. All I see is a bunch of junk and broken furniture." The young psychic could feel the boredom and disappointment that Shinrei was experiencing as though it were her own.**_

_**Kyo just shrugged his shoulders."Just goes to show that you can't always believe those rumors."**_

_**"Well if you two are finally done," Yuki pointed her flashlight at the two boys and place her left hand on the opposite hip in a self-comforting gesture, "can we please get out of here already?"**_

_**"Fine, fine," Kyo walked up to Yuki and placed one hand on her shoulder, "time to get the frightened princess out of the demon's lair." In response she just huffed and pushed off his hand before strolling out the doorway.**_

_**Watching them leave, Shinrei decided he was done too. "Ya let's get going."**_

_**As Shinrei's body was navigating its way through the debris Mai could feel her foot connect with one of the wooden posts which caused her to stumble and drop the flashlight making the room become shrouded in darkness. "Crap." Kneeling down Mai's began feeling out the ground in an attempt to locate the plastic light source. Shinrei's deep voice shouted out to his companions. "Wait up guys I lost my flashlight!"**_

**_Finally pinpointing the electronic Mai stood back up and tried flipping the switch to turn it back on. "Oh come on you stupid thing." She then proceeded to smack it against her palm causing the light to flicker on and off in a random pattern. "Damn cheap thing." While her gaze was faced down and towards the light in her hands she suddenly saw a black mass out of the corner of her eye._**

**_"Huh?" Looking up, Mai could then feel an emotion she recognized as unease settling in the pit of her and Shinrei's stomach._**

**_No longer hitting the flashlight, it continued to strobe against the wall and cast eerie shadows along is surface. Focusing on the illuminated area she just stood still and continued staring at the wall for a good minute or so before the figure appeared again during one of the flashes then soon vanishing once more. Screaming at the unwelcome sight, Mai dropped the flashlight for the second time, covering the old room in a blanket of black._**

**_"Yuki, Kyo?" Shinrei's usually steady tone came out quieter and lacking the usual confidence. Very slowly she felt her way across the cluttered floor and held her hands out to feel for the wall. Panic of her own was overcoming her senses and her breathing was becoming erratic. "Ok guys very funny, jokes over so come out." A large crash was heard from the other side of the enclosed space making her whip her head in the direction it came from._**

_**"Guys?"**_

**_She then feels a hand land on her shoulder causing her to jump. "Jesus, don't do that I thought you both were the-" Instead of a friendly face, Shinrei was met with a black, human shaped head._**

**_Flailing and backpedaling in an attempt to get away from the entity. Panic was soon replaced by fear. Everything then happened very suddenly. The heavy metal door to the room slammed shut and Mai could feel as the body she was reliving everything through was lifted off the ground and thrown back-first against the concrete wall across the room causing her head to snap back with a sickening crack. Though the haze and throbbing pain a dark, fuzzy shape cold be seen slowly making its way towards her prone body. It was then that she could feel the space around her begin to heat up as flames sprouted out of the hard floor. Gradually, and with much difficulty, Shinrei's body backed itself into the nearest corner in a desperate bid to escape the deadly flames. Mai could hear Shinrei screaming within his own mind for someone, anyone, to come help him! Having been too frightened to vocalize his thoughts, Mai continued to listen to his internal plea's even as his clothing caught fire. She could feel every touch, every lick of the fire's tendrils as it began to consume the young man's body as if it were her own pain. Just when she thought it couldn't get worse the floor collapsed from underneath and into the lower floor's ceiling. Gets punctured by rod. Still alive, bleeding out and on fire, Mai and Shinrei's minds both screamed out for an end to the slow, agonizing torture that they were being subjected to._**

**_'Please...PLEASE...just...just end it already!'_**

* * *

Mai was now leaning against the wall along with Kenshin as she neared the end of her dream. "The last thing I remember seeing through the film of pain was that shadow standing over me as if it was...mocking me." She had stared unseeingly at her gloved hands throughout the re-telling but as she vocalized everything phantom pains ran over her skin making her clench her fists.

Reaching over, Kenshin laid his left hand on her shoulder, bringing her out of her trance-like state. "That's good work Mai. I'll have the uniforms start locating Yuki and Kyo to see if they might have heard or seen anything."

Taking slow, deep breaths Mai began relaxing herself in order to separate herself from the lingering feelings brought on by her explanation. "I just hope that they made it out of here." Calm was then replace with worry for the two teens she had met in her dream.

The officer next to her just shook his head with a small smile adorning his face. "Stop worrying about every single person you come across. You didn't hear any other screams others than the ones from yourself and Shinrei right? So I'm sure they're fine."

"Ya I guess you're right huh?" Her usual cheerfulness beginning to bound back.

Kenshin just stared at Mai for a few seconds then lifted his hand from her shoulder and stuck it on her head and ruffled her brown locks.

"Hey! What was that for?!" reaching up she began patting down her now tangled hair into a manageable mane. Kenshin just pushed off from the wall and began walking towards the crime scene leaving a sputtering and glaring Mai in his wake.

Turning his head back in h direction Mai could see an upward tilt at the corner of his mouth. "Well...you coming?"

Glaring even harder at the man Mai huffed before stomping past Kenshin and into the crime scene with a chuckling Kenshin tagging along behind her.

* * *

Day quickly faded into night making the normally unwelcoming factory adopt an even spookier aura. Both the investigative team and SPR had been hard at work and now on full alert. If an attack like the one earlier can happen during broad day light they suspected a much stronger response would occur in the dark. Since the factory hadn't been used in decades there was no electricity running through the walls of the structure. Naru and the SPR crew had brought a generator that all their equipment ran off of as well as a few flood lights so they wouldn't be in total darkness. The police did much of the same thing just with more flood lights. All members of the forensic team had left earlier that day so they could run tests on all the evidence they found. While Kenshin already knew the cause of the boy's death, thanks to Mai, he still needed to be able to give some type of explanation to those that wouldn't take "ghost" for an answer.

Takigawa, Ayako, and Yasu were doing their rounds and collecting the used tapes from the cameras and replacing them with new ones. Very boring and tedious work.

"Would you two hurry it up this place gives me the creeps at night." Complained Ayako as she waited and watched as the boys changed the tapes for the rooms in the second floor hallway.

"Don't worry, the ghost prefers young girls remember? I'd say you're a couple decades past youthful already." The monk snickered from next to the recording device.

Ayako shot a deadly glare in his direction and crossed her arms over her chest. "The old one here is you Monk! You even chase after young boys!"

The last comment had him back pedaling mentally and physically. "The hell, no I don't! That creepy kid won't leave me alone. I'm innocent I tell you, innocent!"

Poking his head into the room occupied by the older duo Yasu had a look of hurt plastered on his face. "But last night you promised that you would always love me even with the age difference. You can't go back on your promise it'll break my heart!"

"See I was right. Just another old pedophile." The miko smirked at the now pale monk.

"Shounen! Don't do that, you know it creeps me out!" Takigawa was standing with the camera firmly placed between himself and the smiling college student.

"Aw it was just a joke no need to get so freaked out." While Yasu's face portrayed regret his eyes were almost sparkling with mirth at the panic he caused within his co-worker.

A short buzz from the walkie talkie that the monk was carrying was heard before Naru's thoroughly irritated voice came through. "I don't pay you to act like children. Get back to work now."

The two adults paled at the tone Naru had used while Yasu continued to smile. "Looks like Naru's pretty grumpy today. I bet he's just jealous that that handsome detective gets to hog all of Mai's tea."

"That isn't the only thing he's hogging." Muttered Ayako with a suggestive tone in her voice.

"If you all aren't done and back in five minutes I'm cutting your pay in half."

Knowing that it wasn't a threat to take lightly all three scrambled out of the room they were currently in and ran through the other rooms as fast as possible before quickly making their way back to base. Slamming the door open the trio pushed themselves into the space with seconds to spare before collapsing on the ground drained of energy.

Watching the way they entered, as if they were being chased by the ghost, John walked up to them with concern. "Are you guys alright? Did something happen?"

All three mumbled one word.** "Naru."**

Hearing that, John let out a nervous laugh. He definitely understood what they meant by that. Sometimes their boss could be worse than any spirit.

Sitting in silence for a little bit the rest of the paranormal investigators began doing the only productive thing they could do. Discuss the case.

"This is ridiculous," sighed Ayako, "when we first got here we immediately experienced everything that the client told us about. Knocking, disembodied voices, being physically attacked, all of it and now, besides the little episode earlier, two days of nothing!" she huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms in front of her.

"It is rather frustrating." Spoke John.

Having relaxed enough that he was now lying on the floor, Takigawa joined the conversation. "Yasu have you managed to find anything on this place yet?"

Losing the ever present mischievous gleam from his expression, Yasu adopted a much more serious demeanor as he began explaining what he knew of the factory so far. "Well as you all know the name of the building is the Atsuko factory. It was constructed in 1923 and produced all the goods for the Atsuko Company who were in the clothes making industry."

Hearing that his employees were actually discussing something useful Naru, along with Lin, stopped what they were doing in order to learn what their resident researcher had discovered.

Having removed himself from the cold concrete floor, Yasu strode over to a small messenger bag and took out a dark blue binder and opened it before he continued sharing with his coworkers. "Back then the laws concerning workers rights were practically nonexistent so this place was basically a sweatshop where wives of struggling families would come looking for jobs. Since they needed the money, they couldn't afford to complain about the conditions that they were working under. The man who ran the company was Gorou Hiroshi and from what I could tell he wasn't the friendliest person around, caring more about his money than his own family. During its years of operation, the factory didn't experience any sort of traumatic injuries other than some of the woman getting caught in and injured by the machines they used to create their fabrics which, at the time, was rather common. However, six years after its opening, a fire broke out that ended up consuming the entire building. As far as they could tell, since there were never any records of employees recovered, all the workers got out safely but apparently Mr. Hiroshi never made it out. Soon after that the factory was shut down and has remained abandoned since. Every once in a while people would buy the property but once they started their construction there would always be accidents that caused major injuries, and in one case, even death."

Shifting his gaze, the young investigator addressed the medium sitting on the couch. "Ms. Hara have you sensed anything yet?"

Shifting her eyes back and forth Masako then settled her gaze on Naru. "It's hard to tell with all the other wandering souls in this place. I can feel the spirit's presence but nothing else, there's too much interference, although..." At this point she lifted her kimono sleeve up to her mouth and fluttered her eyes flirtatiously, "if I was to walk the property I might get a better read on the spirit though of course I'll need someone to come with me..." She let her sentence trail off at the end and everyone knew what she was asking.

Having lowered his eyes back down to his binder when Masako said that she couldn't feel anything, Naru responded without looking up. "Father Brown can accompany you."

The disappointment that Masako felt was seen only for a couple seconds before she schooled her features into her normal aloof look. Without a word the medium slowly stood from her chair and made her way out of the base, the young priest scrambling to catch up with her.

"Monk, Ms. Matsuzaki, help Yasu leaf through the information he brought to see if you can find anything helpful." Directed Naru.

The two adults just sighed at this. "Ya," mumbled the monk, "and by that he means stay still and be quiet."

Resigning themselves to the long hours of reading dozens of pages of historical information all three gathered around the messenger bag and each grabbed a stack of the papers before settling down in the provided chairs.

Then the lights went out.

* * *

**So you like?**

**I know, not the most exciting chapter but next chapter there will be much more ghostly occurrences and the groups will work together eventually so don't worry there's no way I can keep Naru and Mai apart for too long (they're just too entertaining together lol)**

**As always **REVIEWmy lovely readers_**!**_** they keep the chapters coming and I love hearing what everyone is thinking!**

**Well till next time :)**

**(might even put out a little St. Patty's Day omake...you never know)**

**-shayrulz**


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